Beyonce becomes the subject of a US university course

Students can study 'Politicising Beyonce' in the Women's and Gender Studies department at Rutgers University

Beyonce has become the subject of a new course at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Lecturer and PH.D student Kevin Allred currently teaches a course in the US university’s department of Women’s and Gender Studies, called ‘Politicising Beyonce’.

The course examines the ‘Bootylicious’ star’s lyrics and videos and compares them to the works of Alice Walker and feminist and abolitionist Sojourner Truth, reports the Huffington Post.

The Rutgers website states: “…the performer’s music and career are used as lenses to explore American race, gender, and sexual politics. Allred pairs Beyonce’s music videos and lyrics with readings from the Black feminist canon.”

It continues: “Course topics include the extent of Beyonce’s control over her own aesthetic, whether her often half-naked body is empowered or stereotypical, and her more racy performances as her alter ego, ‘Sasha Fierce’.”